Hey — I'm Ben. Short videos. Honest takes. What's worth your time, what isn't, and one small book I wrote to make numbers make sense.
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Short videos. Real takes. What worked, what didn't, and what's actually worth your time.
Quick 2-3 sentence take on what the video's about. What did you try? What did it do for you? Why should a Gen Xer care? Keep it human, keep it honest.
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The AIforXers Manifesto
The essential concepts every non-accountant actually needs — and nothing you don't.
From "I don't get numbers" to reading a balance sheet with confidence — in one short, honest book.
For years I taught this same material as an evening course for adults who had never touched a ledger. Managers, entrepreneurs, artists, parents heading back to work. None of them wanted to become a CPA. They just wanted to stop feeling lost when the numbers came up.
That course is now a book. No jargon, no filler, no CPA-exam gymnastics. Just the handful of ideas that actually matter — explained the way I explain them in class.
Tools I Recommend
These made it past the "is this worth the hype?" test. Real tools I use in my own week, explained in my own words. Some links may be affiliate links — I only recommend stuff I'd tell my brother-in-law to try.
Still the best starting point. If AI is a new house, this is the front door. Ask it anything — it's like having a very smart, very patient friend on call 24/7.
Try itMy go-to for writing and long-form thinking. Feels more like a colleague and less like a search engine. Great for drafting emails you've been avoiding.
Try itGoogle, but if Google actually answered your question instead of making you click through 12 tabs. My default now for anything I need to look up.
Try itReplace this card with your next recommendation. One line on what it does, one line on why you like it. Keep it plain and honest.
Check it outNot every tool is for everybody. These didn't click for me — usually because they weren't built for people like us. No hard feelings, just being honest so you don't waste an afternoon.
Kept hearing about it. Tried it. Bounced off hard. It's clearly powerful, but it's built for developers, not curious dads. If you're not writing code, skip it.
Replace with your next "not for me" take. Two sentences. Be direct. Say why it didn't work for you specifically, not why it's bad.
About Me
I'm Ben. Grew up with cassette tapes, survived dial-up internet, and somehow made it to the age of artificial intelligence. I'm not a tech bro or a Silicon Valley guru — I'm just a dad with two kids who decided to stop being intimidated by AI and start using it.
My mission is simple: try the stuff, break it down in normal-person language, and send you home with the couple of tools actually worth your time.
Watch the Latest →Like a lot of Gen Xers, my first reaction was "great, another thing I have to learn." I'd survived the transition from paper to email, from Blockbuster to Netflix, from flip phones to smartphones. Did I really need another one?
Spoiler: yes. But it took me a minute to see it.
One afternoon I stopped being stubborn and asked ChatGPT to help me draft an email I'd been dreading. Ten seconds later I had a solid first pass. I sat there staring at the screen thinking, "wait — this is real?"
From that moment on I was hooked. Not on the hype. On the usefulness.
I started using AI for real work — drafting proposals, brainstorming, summarizing long documents, explaining things to my kids. I made every rookie mistake so you don't have to. I learned which tools were worth the money and which were just marketing.
My friends started asking me questions. That's when the idea for this site was born.
I built this site for the friend at the barbecue who says "I keep hearing about AI but I have no idea where to start." That friend is smart, busy, and doesn't want to be lectured at. They just want the map.
So that's what this is. A map from someone who's already walked it.
Every week I try something new and post a Short about it. If it's worth your time, you'll find it here. If it's not, that goes in the Honest File so you don't fall into the same trap I did.
My first eBook — Just Enough Accounting — is out. More coming when the ideas are ready. If this is your first visit, welcome. You're not late. You're right on time.